New Romney ad slams Obama over HHS contraception mandate

posted at 9:21 am on August 9, 2012 by Ed Morrissey

This week, Barack Obama attempted to shift back to the “war on women” attack theme, adding Sandra Fluke to his campaign team and arguing that Mitt Romney would take America back to the 1950s on contraception. Team Romney was ready for this strategy. Today they have a new ad, “Be Not Afraid,” which accuses Obama of conducting a war on religion by forcing companies to fully fund and facilitate access to contraception — even faith-based organizations like religious schools, charities, and hospitals. The ad makes a play for Catholic voters with references to Pope John Paul II and Lech Walesa, leveraging Romney’s recent successful visit to Poland:

It does not explicitly say how the Affordable Care Act forces religious institutions to “go against their faith,” but cites a news article headlined “Obama Insurance Decision Declares War on Religion.” The article, from a February issue of the San Antonio Express News, is an opinion piece that criticizes the Obama administration’s efforts to require religiously-affiliated institutions to cover birth control.

“Romney believes that is wrong,” a voice-over says as the spot cuts to images of Romney giving a speech in Warsaw, Poland, this summer. Quoting former Pope John Paul II, he says “be not afraid.”

Text on the screen then reads “Endorsed by Lech Walesa,” the former President of Poland.

As I’ve noted on a number of occasions, no one has ever proposed making contraception more difficult to obtain. No one has even suggested cutting back Title X funding for the federal program which subsidizes and distributes contraception for the poor. Forcing employers to provide it for free even when it violates their religious practice is the actual issue, especially for religious organizations. It’s an unprecedented intrusion into religious expression to solve a huge non-problem.

I’d call this ad a good response, with great timing, to Obama’s attempt to reheat the “war on women” meme that flopped so badly in May.

Good ad. It is ALL about religious freedom, not stopping women from getting contraceptives. I hope Romney is ready with some data at the debates, such as birth control pills being available for as little at $4 a month, and the fact that women who need it for “health reasons” were ALWAYS covered under their existing insurance. If he says he will fight for all Americans to be free to practice their religion without government intrusion — as the United States Constitution demands its presidents do — he wins this argument hands down.

His Super Pac needs to release an ad making reference to Brian terry and the 500 dead Mexicans due to F&F.

Raquel Pinkbullet on August 9, 2012 at 9:29 AM

I don’t know. I’m all about taking the gloves off, but Romney must not surrender the high ground on this Priorities USA debacle. Yes it can be argued that the Obama Administration is culpable in the deaths of hundreds, including Brian Terry. But better to focus on the coverup and lies over F&F with regard to the operation and Terry’s death than to try to blame Obama(even indirectly) for the actual murder.

I wonder if there is another subtlety at work here, Ed. The cited article is from a newspaper in the same town that the Democrats’ keynote speaker is from. I’m guessing they could have found similar editorials from other papers in red states, but they chose that one.

Quoting JPII is inclusive and effective. Still a lot of Catholics and evangelicals wary of Romney’s religion and I think this will help mollify a lot of Catholics at least. I still contend LDS is a benign cult that will bring no harm to the country. Obama has brought harm and will bring so much more. On my list of 100 reasons to oppose Romney, his religion was at or near the bottom of the list. Let me tell you folks, the more I imagine another four years of Obamunism, the more that list dissolves into dust.

Web ads are no longer pointless. Facebook alone will surpass 1 billion members this month. Imagine the impact if a few of us link it on our FB page, you know, like I just did.

hillsoftx on August 9, 2012 at 9:33 AM

I believe Bill Burton said in his 18-minute CNN spinfest yesterday that the now infamous “Romney gave my wife terminal cancer” ad that that spot had yet to air on TV and was still just an online spot. So don’t anyone tell me internet ads don’t have an impact on campaigns.

Considering that RomneyCare did exactly the same thing, I am trying to figure out the benefit of calling this up. Romney is barely a fraction of a degree to the right of Obama on just about every single issue. He even appointed activist progressive judges to the bench. Anyone who thinks voting this man into power is going to restore America are deluded.

As someone in WI, I can attest to the fact that early voting is HUGE for the Dems and Barrett. I went to Milwaukee to see for myself and, sure enough, there were vans dropping people off to vote. They were ONE WISCONSIN NOW vans and were numbered 15 and 16. I live in heavily GOP Waukesha County and there has been little, if any, early voting here.

I’m more than a little worried that the Walker Campaign has basically decided not to invest at all in a concerted GOTV effort and is relying on bad TV ads to get people motivated to vote.

This is a great ad, and will probably win over a lot of Catholic voters, many of whom consider the late Pope John Paul II to be a saint, and also voters of Polish ancestry, who have a great respect for both John Paul II and Lech Walesa. This ad could also dispel some fears about Romney’s Mormon faith, since Romney publicly praised Pope John Paul II and received the endorsement of Lech Walesa, who is widely known to be Catholic.

I wonder if there is another subtlety at work here, Ed. The cited article is from a newspaper in the same town that the Democrats’ keynote speaker is from. I’m guessing they could have found similar editorials from other papers in red states, but they chose that one.

radjah shelduck on August 9, 2012 at 9:36 AM

Excellent catch. And not to stereotype, but that Hispanic mayor of San Antonio is likely Catholic.

D’oh!

OT: I know Hot Airians think little of Dick Morris, and I can’t disagree. But last night on one of the FNC evening programs, he suggested that Romney get his wife in a TV ad to attest about how much Mitt cares about cancer patients. As outlined by Morris, I thought it would be a very effective ad on many fronts, including humanizing Romney, especially for women. After all, who do you want, ladies, an Al Green crooner, or a guy who is tending to you after your most recent round of chemo? Boom!

As someone in WI, I can attest to the fact that early voting is HUGE for the Dems and Barrett. I went to Milwaukee to see for myself and, sure enough, there were vans dropping people off to vote. They were ONE WISCONSIN NOW vans and were numbered 15 and 16. I live in heavily GOP Waukesha County and there has been little, if any, early voting here.

I’m more than a little worried that the Walker Campaign has basically decided not to invest at all in a concerted GOTV effort and is relying on bad TV ads to get people motivated to vote.

“This is a great ad, and will probably win over a lot of Catholic voters, many of whom consider the late Pope John Paul II to be a saint, and also voters of Polish ancestry, who have a great respect for both John Paul II and Lech Walesa.”

Good ad. The Obama-fellating press, however, will ignore it. They quote extensively from Obama’s ads and speeches but never from Romney. For example, every morning for the last three weeks one of the first two stories that National Progressive Radio leads their 4am broadcast with is about the campaign. Without fail they will replay a portion of an Obama speech and/or quote the accompanying campaign talking point. No analyis, not a shred of skepticism, nothing. They just leave it out there. They’ve never allow this with Romney. NPR always adds qualifiers to Romney’s campaign points (“alleges”, “claims”, “asserts”). And this is only when they bother to report anything he says at all.

They really need to run that ad heavily in Philadelphia and Scranton. The biggest Polish Catholic pilgrimage and festival in the country is coming up in Doylestown on Labor Day weekend. And Michelle is in Philly and Bethlehem today.

Not a bad ad. Focuses on the real issue (war on religion) and not who should finance the maintenance on the private parts of slutty Georgetown Law students. It is the winning argument because no matter how much it may be true, Obama isn’t going to stand up and declare he opposes the First Amendment. Here’s hoping that Romney’s people don’t fumble in the follow-up (which Saul did by any objective measure).

no one has ever proposed making contraception more difficult to obtain. No one has even suggested cutting back Title X funding for the federal program which subsidizes and distributes contraception for the poor

Seems all of us out here are responsible to speak those facts, and taking the arrows for it.
I think the candidate should be saying it, AS WELL.
Hopefully soon.

I don’t know. I’m all about taking the gloves off, but Romney must not surrender the high ground on this Priorities USA debacle. Yes it can be argued that the Obama Administration is culpable in the deaths of hundreds, including Brian Terry. But better to focus on the coverup and lies over F&F with regard to the operation and Terry’s death than to try to blame Obama(even indirectly) for the actual murder.

Doughboy on August 9, 2012 at 9:34 AM

Using the McCain playbook of “losing with honor” is going to yield the same results. And let’s be honest here what would a fair minded person think would happen if they sold guns to Mexican drug cartels with NO WAY to track them?? I mean they weren’t buying them to for their gun collection.

And also something that directly contributed to Terry’s death was Obama administration directive about rules of engagement for Border agents that doesn’t allow them to use deadly force even when facing an armed suspect.

They were ONE WISCONSIN NOW vans and were numbered 15 and 16. I live in heavily GOP Waukesha County and there has been little, if any, early voting here.

gumbyandpokey on May 22, 2012 at 8:22 PM

I seem to remember that Scott Walker won Waukesha County by over 100,000 votes, which pretty much wiped out Barrett’s advantage in Milwaukee. Apparently those “bad” TV ads turned out lots of Walker votes in Waukesha County and several other populous counties in eastern Wisconsin–more than enough to counter those early voters in the vans.

I’ve already debunked your lame claim that web ads are “pointless” two times. Do you really want me to embarrass you again?

Flora Duh on August 9, 2012 at 9:40 AM

Which is why it’s so pathetic that Romney makes good ads that go unseen by most.

gumbyandpokey on August 9, 2012 at 9:48 AM

Yeah, I guess you do.

Some 74% of internet users–representing 55% of the entire adult population–went online in 2008 to get involved in the political process or to get news and information about the election. This marks the first time that a Pew Internet & American Life Project survey has found that more than half of the voting-age population used the internet to get involved in the political process during an election year.

Several online activities rose to prominence in 2008. In particular, Americans were eager to share their views on the race with others and to take part in the online debate on social media sites such as blogs and social networking sites. Among the key findings of our survey:

Nearly one in five (18%) internet users posted their thoughts, comments or questions about the campaign on an online forum such as a blog or social networking site.

Fully 45% of internet users went online to watch a video related to the campaign.

One in three internet users forwarded political content to others. Indeed, the sharing of political content (whether writing and commentary or audio and video clips) increased notably over the course of the 2008 election cycle. While young adults led the way in many political activities, seniors were highly engaged in forwarding political content to their friends and family members.

Young voters continued to engage heavily in the political debate on social networking sites. Fully 83% of those age 18-24 have a social networking profile, and two-thirds of young profile owners took part in some form of political activity on these sites in 2008.

The relative importance of the internet also continued to grow within the overall political media ecosystem. Among the entire population (internet users and non-users alike) the internet is now equal to newspapers and roughly twice as important as radio as a source of election news and information. Among internet users and young adults, these differences are even more magnified.

Additionally, online political news consumers are delving deeply into the long tail of online political content–nearly half of online political news consumers visited five or more distinct types of online news sites this election cycle. However, this deeper involvement may change the way voters view online news content. Voters are increasingly moving away from news sites with no point of view, and towards sites that match their own political viewpoints–and this is especially true of those who delve deepest into the world of online political content. Source

Google’s Public Sector Blog recently covered an interesting case that provides a rare glimpse into the absolute effects of online advertising for persuasion in political campaigns and advocacy efforts. Typically, the waters are muddied, as campaigns leverage both traditional and interactive methods, making it impossible for one to conclude which efforts were really responsible for a bump in poll numbers or a victory. However, the RESOLVE campaign only used online advertising, allowing us to see the results from solely online efforts.

The campaign was targeted at families dealing with infertility in the Washington, D.C. area. The results demonstrate a solid spike in awareness from the campaign. According to the study, prompted awareness of embryo donation increased from 42 percent to 50 percent. Furthermore, in households with over $100,000 incomes, awareness increased from 42 percent to 56 percent.

These results are even more impressive when contrasted with another RESOLVE campaign in Seattle, WA. This campaign featured a PSA and other traditional media. However, at the end of the campaign, there was no measurable change in awareness.

The online campaign’s secret to success was a huge amount of ads, consisting of various media types, placed across the web. Ranging from YouTube categories to personal infertility blogs to women’s sites. All told, the campaign purchased about 3 million targeted impressions across the web. Source

BTW, there is an Americans for Prosperity ad on heavy rotation now in Philly. It’s really good. I saw it 4 times last night during the Olympics and local news. It shows Obama promising to cut the deficit in half (I understand there are Dems running around frantically denying Obama ebver said this, but the tape is right there in this ad), then shows the debt clock with the numbers skyrocketing and lots of news voiceovers talking about the exploding deficit and debt. It ends with the clip of Obama saying “if we haven’t turned this thing around in three years, we’re looking at a one-term proposition.”

Using the McCain playbook of “losing with honor” is going to yield the same results. And let’s be honest here what would a fair minded person think would happen if they sold guns to Mexican drug cartels with NO WAY to track them?? I mean they weren’t buying them to for their gun collection.

And also something that directly contributed to Terry’s death was Obama administration directive about rules of engagement for Border agents that doesn’t allow them to use deadly force even when facing an armed suspect.

Raquel Pinkbullet on August 9, 2012 at 9:54 AM

I’m not saying Romney should lay down and not attack Obama. I’m just saying there’s a line you don’t cross. Accusing your opponent of being an accessory to murder is somewhere the Romney campaign should not go. Yes, it’s a legit charge that you can make. Would Brian Terry be alive today had it not been for F&F? Probably. But there are so many ways Romney can hit Obama on F&F(including over the death of Terry) without making that explicit allegation.

Something like an ad of him telling Matt Lauer he never thought to call the BP CEO set to children’s music – stuff like that.

The Count on August 9, 2012 at 9:55 AM

Romney can’t go mean in his ads but I do think the quote of Obama quoting his daughter asking about plugging the hole superimposed with the five-hour “vacation” the family took on the Gulf Coast looking at blobs of oil before Mooch and the brats jetted off to Spain for a week with an entire entourage of friends that was so expensive for the taxpayers the administration is still fighting admitting the final cost of this completely unofficial trip abroad.

As someone in WI, I can attest to the fact that early voting is HUGE for the Dems and Barrett. I went to Milwaukee to see for myself and, sure enough, there were vans dropping people off to vote. They were ONE WISCONSIN NOW vans and were numbered 15 and 16. I live in heavily GOP Waukesha County and there has been little, if any, early voting here.
I’m more than a little worried that the Walker Campaign has basically decided not to invest at all in a concerted GOTV effort and is relying on bad TV ads to get people motivated to vote.

As someone in WI, I can attest to the fact that early voting is HUGE for the Dems and Barrett. I went to Milwaukee to see for myself and, sure enough, there were vans dropping people off to vote. They were ONE WISCONSIN NOW vans and were numbered 15 and 16. I live in heavily GOP Waukesha County and there has been little, if any, early voting here.

I’m more than a little worried that the Walker Campaign has basically decided not to invest at all in a concerted GOTV effort and is relying on bad TV ads to get people motivated to vote.

Excellent. It also needs to be said that this ad has already gotten coverage in National Journal, which is read by every political reporter every day and tends to lead coverage of campaign news. NJ is becoming more influential in this election cycle as the other sites like Politico have veered off into obvious Obama cheerleading. Ron Fournier is its political editor and he is the best in the business.

So I expect it will be shown on some TV news shows and be discussed by the TV talking heads, and thus get a lot of free air time on TV that way, even if it isn’t actually shown as a paid ad.

We still don’t know if the “Romney is a murderer” ad has actually been shown as a paid ad anywhere. But it’s dominated three days of news.

This is how smart campaigns work. Put a controversial ad out there and get everyone talking about it, and you don;t have to spend a dime actually running it on TV.

Wow! So Nancy Pelosi admits to suffering psychotic episodes complete with auditory and visual hallucinations! That explains a lot, but shouldn’t it be cause to get her psychologically evaluated for fitness to hold office too?

But there are so many ways Romney can hit Obama on F&F(including over the death of Terry) without making that explicit allegation.

Doughboy on August 9, 2012 at 10:04 AM

Romney’s people do not want to play “how low can you go” limbo with a bunch of Chicago street thugs. They would lose badly. Saying that Obama killed all those people with OF&F falls into this category no matter how true. No matter how much more accurate an allegation it is than Obama’s people calling Romeny a carcinogen or something.

This operation needs to be woven along with the security leaks clearly coming from the White House, the WH involvement in crony capitalism (Solyndra etc.), the arbitrary use of Executive Order to circumvent the legislative process, the sleaze surrounding passage of Obamacare, etc…. into an out of control administration more corrupt than Nixon’s, more incompetent than Carter’s, and more intrusive but ineffectual than LBJ’s.

Romney can’t comment on anything about Obamacare. He’s the author. He agrees with him 100%. When will you people stop propping up liberals like Romney. Unreal!

no_air_up_there on August 9, 2012 at 10:07 AM

He wrote the entire bill himself? Gee, I must have missed the part where the Democrats who control MA wrote the bulk of the bill. I also must have missed the part where Romney himself wrote 8 vetoes into their bill before he signed it. All 8 of his vetoes were then overridden by the Democrats who control MA in less than 2 months.

F-

Oh, and O’bama thanks you for your vote! Please vote early and often, and get the rest of your Dead friends to vote too!

I’m not saying Romney should lay down and not attack Obama. I’m just saying there’s a line you don’t cross. Accusing your opponent of being an accessory to murder is somewhere the Romney campaign should not go. Yes, it’s a legit charge that you can make. Would Brian Terry be alive today had it not been for F&F? Probably. But there are so many ways Romney can hit Obama on F&F(including over the death of Terry) without making that explicit allegation.

Doughboy on August 9, 2012 at 10:04 AM

I agree with you that Romney’s PAC should NOT directly make an ad accusing Obama of accessory to murder. But i think a hard hitting ad featuring Brian Terry’s mom (she’s been on FB and FNC) talking about her son’s death and Obama’s administration F&F program and cut to scenes of Holder being held in contempt and stonewalling before congress, with a final message flashing on screen about Obama exerting executive privilege in the coverup.

That would be a fair ad. Or someone should start a Pac solely dedicated to hitting Obama and Holder on F&F.

I’m going to rate the ad as a fail. Focusing on the contraception part of the mandate leaves room for those who are squishy on the topic. The focus should be on the part that forces those employers to pay for abortificants. Even those who are squishy on contraception, don’t agree with forcing someone to pay for an abortion. That part of the mandate is much more difficult for Obama and HHS to defend.

If Obama is going to put out ads calling Romney a murderer, then it should be equally fair to put out ads that show Obama’s policies are murder.

Romney’s people do not want to play “how low can you go” limbo with a bunch of Chicago street thugs. They would lose badly. Saying that Obama killed all those people with OF&F falls into this category no matter how true. No matter how much more accurate an allegation it is than Obama’s people calling Romeny a carcinogen or something.

This operation needs to be woven along with the security leaks clearly coming from the White House, the WH involvement in crony capitalism (Solyndra etc.), the arbitrary use of Executive Order to circumvent the legislative process, the sleaze surrounding passage of Obamacare, etc…. into an out of control administration more corrupt than Nixon’s, more incompetent than Carter’s, and more intrusive but ineffectual than LBJ’s.

Happy Nomad on August 9, 2012 at 10:12 AM

Romney seems to be using the McCain 2008 playbook. There is a way to beat thugs at their own game, and the way to do is to shine a light on them. Thugs are cockroaches, they operate in darkness, but once you turn on a light they all scatter.

I’m going to rate the ad as a fail. Focusing on the contraception part of the mandate leaves room for those who are squishy on the topic.

2nd Ammendment Mother on August 9, 2012 at 10:22 AM

I understand what you’re saying, but disagree. Romney should not get down in the dirt with Obama on contraception and abortifacients. Rather, the focus should be on the assault on First Amendment rights and protections. Whatever voters opinions on abortion and contraception may be, pointing out that Obama is attacking you First Amendment rights will resonate much more broadly.

“The God who gave us life gave us liberty. Can the liberties of a nation be secure when we have removed a conviction that these liberties are the gift of God? Indeed I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just, that his justice cannot sleep forever. Commerce between master and slave is despotism. Nothing is more certainly written in the book of fate than that these people are to be free.” -Thomas Jefferson, inscribed on the Jefferson Memorial, Washington, D.C.

“Almighty God hath created the mind free. All attempts to influence it by temporal punishments or burthens . . . are a departure from the plan of the Holy Author of our religion . . . No man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship or ministry or shall otherwise suffer on account of his religious opinions or belief, but all men shall be free to profess and by argument to maintain, their opinions in matters of religion.” -Thomas Jefferson, inscribed on the Jefferson Memorial, Washington, D.C.

Romney’s people do not want to play “how low can you go” limbo with a bunch of Chicago street thugs. They would lose badly. Saying that Obama killed all those people with OF&F falls into this category no matter how true. No matter how much more accurate an allegation it is than Obama’s people calling Romeny a carcinogen or something.

This operation needs to be woven along with the security leaks clearly coming from the White House, the WH involvement in crony capitalism (Solyndra etc.), the arbitrary use of Executive Order to circumvent the legislative process, the sleaze surrounding passage of Obamacare, etc…. into an out of control administration more corrupt than Nixon’s, more incompetent than Carter’s, and more intrusive but ineffectual than LBJ’s.

Happy Nomad on August 9, 2012 at 10:12 AM

You are right they don’t because he’s not a GOP primary opponent. But if he were the gloves would definitely come off. Yay Mitt.

QUOTE: “This week, Barack Obama attempted to shift back to the “war on women” attack theme, adding Sandra Fluke to his campaign team and arguing that Mitt Romney would take America back to the 1950s on contraception.”

Hmmmmmmmm …
Since Barack Øgabe claims that Mittens wants to “take America back to the 1950s”, what happened to the shame attached to unwed motherhood?
(where are the race “hustlers” – pun intended, btw?)
Leftists absolutely hate to admit it, but the late Rev. Jerry Falwell operated(s) the largest “home for unwed mothers” in the country. So, what did Leftists do, they (Larry Flynt and his Dem pals) accused him (Falwell) of incest in a ground-breaking cartoon that led to a decision by The Supremes that it was “protected speech” as in “satire”.
Now, fast forward to 2012, it is not PC to call a spade a spade. Satire, in the case of Leftists like Flying Sandy Flake, forget that they broke the ground for calling her exactly what she is … a promiscuous woman and professional student shill.
Sorry, Sandy honions …
I aint paying for your promiscuity. Get used to it, ya loose, lying beetch.
Sandy did manage to get a hug from the P-in-C though. Her parents must be so proud.
LOL … *sigh*
~(Ä)~

Um, yeah, sure. Just keep telling yourself that, kid. There are a ton of people around like me, who get virtually all their news from HotAir and other conservative news sites and who never turn on the TV unless there’s a weather warning, and maybe not even then.

If people want to tune in to CNN, MSNBC and the alphabet networks online, they can, but for me, it’s never been easier to ignore and bypass them altogether as it is now. And I’m sure that is why those networks are panicking and getting more and more outrageously silly with what they do broadcast — it’s starting to sink in that they are being willfully ignored on TV and online.